News

The Restorative Justice Council (RJC) is to receive funding in 2014-15 of £1 million from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). This funding is part of a significant government investment to ensure victims, services and commissioners have access to high quality restorative justice (RJ).

Victims are to get access to vital support thanks to a new £12m fund announced by victims’ minister Damian Green on 25 February.

From October 2014, Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) will be responsible for commissioning further specialist services for victims of the most serious crimes, including domestic violence and sexual violence, and support for the most vulnerable on our society. PCCs are to bid for a share of the fund on top of their yearly budget for 2014/15. The fund is due to open for bids shortly, with PCCs receiving funding as soon as possible.

Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) will take over responsibility for the local commissioning of restorative justice services in October 2014, and the RJC have published guidance materials to assist in this process and help PCCs to deliver high quality restorative practice.

PCC for South Wales, Alun Michael, said: "It has taken far too long for restorative justice to become a central element in our criminal justice society and more widely in British society, but that aspiration is now widely shared and we must seize the opportunity."

The UK’s first ever national standards and quality mark for restorative services are launched today by the Restorative Justice Council. The launch is a big step for the sector, ensuring that service commissioners and users can be confident of effective practice in every setting.

In response to the announcement of the £2 million Youth Justice Board Grant to youth offending teams (YOTs) for restorative justice training, the Restorative Justice Council (RJC) are offering information and support to YOTs who would like to develop and improve their restorative justice provision.

The RJC provides a number of services including practitioner registration and accreditation, a Trainer Register, the Restorative Service Quality Mark and Continuing Professional Development events. To find out more download the information sheet below.

The Ministry of Justice have announced funding of at least £29 million to be available to Police and Crime Commissioners and charities to help deliver restorative justice over the next three years. Funding will also be provided to the Restorative Justice Council, Restorative Solutions and the Youth Justice Board.

In an important development for restorative justice (RJ), The Crime and Courts Act 2013 comes into effect today, giving courts the power to defer sentencing in order for RJ to take place in cases where both victim and offender are willing to participate.

The RJC welcomes today’s announcement (29 September) of the Victims’ Code entitling victims to personally address offenders in court by reading a statement to explain how a crime has impacted them.

RJC Director Lizzie Nelson says: "The revised Victims’ Code is a key step in ensuring that victims of crime have a voice and we warmly welcome this development. However a victim reading a statement in court cannot replace the full restorative justice process.

The RJC is pleased to announce that Remedi have become the eighth organization to achieve the Restorative Service Quality Mark (RSQM) following the successful conclusion of its test phase.

Jemma Jewkes, the RJC’s head of standards and professional services, said: “We’re delighted that Remedi now hold the RSQM. They’ve worked incredibly hard with our assessors and consultants, and this demonstrates the very high quality level of service they offer to the public.